Preprocessor directive
Redirect page
Redirect to:
== Preprocessor Directives == Preprocessor directives, such as #define and #ifdef, are typically used to make source programs easy to change and easy to compile in different execution environments. Directives in the source file tell the preprocessor to perform specific actions. For example, the preprocessor can replace tokens in the text, insert the contents of other files into the source file, or suppress compilation of part of the file by removing sections of text. Preprocessor lines are recognized and carried out before macro expansion. Therefore, if a macro expands into something that looks like a preprocessor command, that command is not recognized by the preprocessor.
Preprocessor statements use the same character set as source file statements, with the exception that escape sequences are not supported. The character set used in preprocessor statements is the same as the execution character set. The preprocessor also recognizes negative character values.
Preprocessor directives are lines included in the code of our programs that are not program statements but directives for the preprocessor. These lines are always preceded by a hash sign (#). The preprocessor is executed before the actual compilation of code begins, therefore the preprocessor digests all these directives before any code is generated by the statements.
These preprocessor directives extend only across a single line of code. As soon as a newline character is found, the preprocessor directive is considered to end. No semicolon (;) is expected at the end of a preprocessor directive. The only way a preprocessor directive can extend through more than one line is by preceding the newline character at the end of the line by a backslash (\).